Our last blog posting, I asked you to think about the importance of studying literature, both in your life as a student and in your life as a citizen of the world. The majority of you expressed the opinion that, though sometimes boring and difficult, the work of studying literature can teach you important academic skills as well as make you think about "the big questions" in life. Only a few of you commented that literature was not important at all, and was a complete waste of your time. Some examples on this side of the argument were that Shakespeare, for example, never comes up in "the real world" and that studying fictional stories is a waste when you could spend your time reading to learn a trade or skill. Whatever opinion you expressed, most of you expressed yourselves in a clear and convincing way on the blog. As an English teacher, I have my own beliefs about the importance of studying literature; however I do appreciate the dialogue and the open-endedness of the debate on the subject. Do I think there is a "right" answer to the question about whether studying literature is important? My answer is "No," it depends on your point of view.
An underlying theme I found in your comments about studying literature is a problem with school in general. Many of you voiced the opinion that, in one way or another, school could offer you a way to learn that is more in touch with your own individual interests and goals. For example, many students suggested that students should be able to select their own books to read rather than have to read the same old books with which they find hard to relate. As much as I believe in the importance of school, having been a member of a school - as a student and as a teacher - for most of my life, I can admit that there are many problems and quirks of the school system that could be improved upon to enhance the learning experience for many different kinds of students from different backgrounds and with diverse interests.
Begin your comments here by stating some of your complaints about school in general. What if anything about school makes it difficult for you to learn? Then, imagine what the ideal high school education would be like (of course keeping to the bounds of reality here - I am not talking about a playground/amusement park/country club where you spend your school days playing Nintendo Wii and napping all day!). What would be the ideal high school situation for you that would allow you and motivate you to learn? What subjects would you take? What subjects would you leave out? How would your classes be taught? Your goal in this post is to imagine the perfect school, one that you still have to go to, but that you enjoy going to and learning in every day of the school week.
Your posts must be at least 150 words. Please check for spelling and grammar before submitting. These previous criteria, plus how thoroughly and completely you answer the question, will effect your grade for this assignment.
Due Wednesday 3/18. Total = 25 points
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Stephanie Hagan-
ReplyDeleteSome complaints I have about this school is how some teachers don’t teach us the right way or don’t give us a chance to understand it. Some teachers just go right into a test or quiz when you just learned about it or still have no clue about what you’re learning. I also feel like if we did more stuff visual and move around and interact it would stimulate kid’s minds and make them interact more. I actually think taking a field trip here and there would be good because we’re learning outside of class and I think kids would be more interested because we’re not just in some boring classroom. My ideal school would be learning but also interaction. So, kids aren’t always bored but also can look forward to something like, “Wow I can’t wait to go to school today because we’re going to the Art Museum to learn about Picasso.” Also I would stress learning is important but there’s some many other things out there too I feel that we could learn about and that’s not by sitting in desks it’s about actually going out to see it. I don’t think I would cut any classes but I think I would rename them for instance World Civilizations would be “Discover the World” and Art would be “Imagine if?” My school would be awesome and teach students that school isn’t always boring.
Frankie B
ReplyDeleteSchool is not a favorite for the majority of students these days. With a combination of lack of interest in students and strict regulations in today’s school systems, moral in school is going down. I think that school runs far too long. I walk in the building at 7:30 am and don’t leave until about 2:45 pm, and that’s on the days I don’t have a practice after school. I also find myself sitting in the same class for about an hour, looking back and saying to myself ‘What have I been doing this whole time?’ I believe that too much time is wasted doing off-task subjects. Now I’m not saying that we need to squeeze more work into a single class period, I’m simply stating that with a proper lesson plan and cooperation by students and teachers, the day could be much shorter. An ideal school for me would include teachers who have a good lesson plan going into the day, a teacher who can handle their class, and a shorter school day. Some days I go home thinking I could have done that in about 3 hours. I also think homework should be abolished. I know that’s pushing it a little, but until we have a three or four hour day, there is no need for homework.
School is not one of my favorite things to do but it is just a thing that me and the rest of the teenage population have to deal with. I do not get why we have to go to school all day long, come home, and do some homework. We should get a break here and there because kids need exercise. I also do not get why we have to come to school so early in the morning. I have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning and I have to catch the bus at 6:50. Another thing is why we are here so long. I get to school at 7:00 and do not leave until 2:45. That’s almost eight hours, not to mention after school activities. By the time I get home, I am exhausted. I think we should not have homework, and only have to go to school for like six hours.
ReplyDeleteEthan Jaffe
Some of my complaints about school in general are that it starts to early. Getting kids up in the morning is hard enough, making them learn at 7:45 is making things worse. Another complaint I have is that our school doesn’t give us enough time to get from class to class. When we have to walk all the way to opposite side of the building for gym, we always arrive late. Even if we don’t stop for a second and say hi to anyone, we still arrive late to class which than we get in trouble from our teacher. Something that would motivate me to go to school is if we did more physical activity. For an example more group work and group testing. I think another thing that would change motivate students is if we get to read books in which interests us. Like sports books for me instead of Othello. I would take Science, English, Social Studies, Math, Lunch, Gym, and an elective. One subject I would leave out is taking a language. That way our day would quicker and be better.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Greco
Victoria Johnson
ReplyDeleteI do not like how we are not aloud to listen to music while doing our work. Personally i think i work better with music. I think we should be able to text during school as long as were not disrupting the class, and doing our work. It's hard to learn when the whole class is talking and the teacher isn't doing anything about it. If i could have a perfect school, i think i would split the day up in half. 7:30-10then like an hour in a half lunch and tutorial with teachers if you need help, then 12:30-2:30. I think you should be able to leave school during lunch. One half of the day should be academic, and the other half, fun. Academic meaning, science, english, world civ, and math. Then break, then electives and gym. Gym shouldn't be mandatory because if you don't want gym, then you just sit out anyway. Music, arts, cooking, science, drama, and other electives should be offered.
I would want to do an apparel design class, and a music class. I think by splitting up the day would help because students know they need to work in the morning, but then in the afternoon, everything is fun. I would want fun teachers all day, teachers who want to help us but also have fun with us.
Some complaints I have about school are the way some teachers teach. I dislike the fact that when a teacher is done teaching us a certain lesson plan they go right into a test or quiz, by doing so they don’t give us enough time to understand the material. If I had to imagine my perfect school I wouldn’t want to leave it! The classes I would have to leave out are those annoying academics math and English classes. I mean honestly we really don’t need them. All we need are the basic classes such as math, chemistry and English and world History. I would like it if the teachers showed more enthusiasm with their teachings because I noticed that some students fall asleep. Honestly if I had the chance for my ideal school I would defiantly take my chances and make it a reality.
ReplyDeleteBy, Matthew Simmons
Moon H
ReplyDeleteOne thing I don't like about the school system is the school itself. First day in a new school is fun but after a while the brick walls, the hallways, the desks, etc. all gets boring. It's like listening to the radio, the music they play eventually gets repetitive and boring. When you're put into a boring scenery that you're used to everything you do eventually gets dull. It feels like a prison sometimes. Another reason I don't like school is the time we have to wake up. School is way too early. It's tough for me to stay awake and focused in all my periods. I tried adjusting my sleep time by sleeping earlier but I was still too tired to concentrate in school. Teachers say you have to sleep and wake up early because that's what work is going to be like. That's a lie. I also absolutely hate homework. I usually BS my math homework and write random numbers and the teacher marks it correct, so what does that make homework? A waste of my time. One thing that can fix up the dead setting of school is to take the class outside. I'm not talking about field trips but getting up out of the school desk and moving our legs gets the blood flowing. Maybe going outside when the weather is nice would make class more enjoyable. I think about the 2 hour delays we had in school. Everyone came in 9:30am and my one friend told me "Man I wish school was like this everyday I would be getting straight A's". I thought about what he said and about how I felt at that moment coming to school at that time. I felt...motivated, energetic, and even excited to learn. PSSA me will be at 12:30am. Imagine the school including teachers coming in at 12:30am everyday. You wouldn't have to wake up early and rush. Morning time is the best time is a warm up for the school day. Morning time for me is like a warm up or a stretch. They should definitely make school open later. Daily homework should be eliminated. Projects, essays, big things like that I understand but little homework sheets or textbook pages that teachers don't even thoroughly check is stupid. No homework is a good idea.
Some problems I have about this school is that the teachers can’t teach the students right. Some students today just don’t care and will talk or not pay attention when a teacher is trying to teach. Another problem about this school is that there are too many rules. They know that we are going to break them. They also need to make the hall ways better because all the crowding in the T is out of control. We also have too much work. We work from 7:40 until 3:35 then you expect us to go home and do 3 more hours of homework. The perfect school for me would be from like 10:00 until 1:30. There would be the regular subjects but you could choose your schedule and nothing was required. There still would be tests but not as often and no home work. That would be the perfect school day to me.
ReplyDelete-Ben Gordon
In school there are many distractions. Sometimes I tend to get distracted when it comes to doing my work. When I am around my friends my work ethics slack because I rather hang with my friends than do my schoolwork. In my opinion I think the ideal high school would be kind of like the one I am going to now. There is no high school that is perfect. In almost every high school there has to be some short of fight taking place everyday. If every high school was perfect there would be no drama or fighting and things would go as planned quite frequently. It would be kind of boring because nothing is being played by ear and nothing exciting will happen. There are a few things that could change that would make high school my ideal place. We could start school a little bit later and get out at the same time. Also we listen to music and text in between classes and we can wear hats and bonnets to school. Finally teachers should take their time when teaching us. If we have trouble with something they should help us until we get it right or thoroughly explain things, and don’t give us tests on the same days.
ReplyDeleteNatalon Green!!!!!
Chynna West
ReplyDeleteOne reason I don’t like school is because the things that you learn are not preparing you for the real world. We learn things that in most jobs we can’t use and the skills necessary for life are not instilled. I think we should have a financial class as a major class and not an elective because we all need to know this information in order to handle our money when we get older. My ideal school would should at 9:00 and end at 4:00. Everyone would have to play a sport so there wouldn’t be any gym and that way we would meet the physical education requirements for the state. The only classes that would be required would be English, math, and a social studies, and we could have 2 electives. There wouldn’t be finals, but a big test at the end of every quarter to review what you learned. Everyone could leave for lunch as long as you are back for your next classes and there would be a lunch every period. If you have a 1st period or 8th period lunch you can come in late or leave early. For grades there will only be A-D. If you have a D or low C extra classes will be added to your schedule, meaning you have to come in before school around 8:00. Even though I like school I think this would make kids more motivated because school would be fun too.
WEll school is pretty boringgg. its like you have to sit all day and your butt starts to hurt and you got to wakke up earlyy when you could be sleepingg .& you also learn a bunch junk that you will never i mean neverrrr gonna use again i life everrr. its difficult to learn when you got write during every class and your hand hurtss so you stop then you dont learn. & when teachers are boring and stupid all ready and think you know everythin but we really got no clue. then you fail things becasue your craming all week for a test and your teacher puts all this differnet stuff on it. To motivte me to learn i would wan t all my firends in my classes go in at like 12 o clock so i can sleep and maybe not take as many notess. i think htere should better food and naptime [ thatss not napping all day so it counts still mr rendine]and more school trips so we can get an education of the outside worldd. i would not take out any i would just have everyone deicde what they wanted to take so if they wanted english and math they could take but if you only wanted electives you could just take all them but everyones required a nap so dont get crabby. my classes would be taught by young teachers in between the ages of 25-35 so there not old. ands i would add recess nad snacktime in there to becasue they are essentails.and thats my ideal school. yay mee
ReplyDeletekrista grandeeeee!
motivate for me to learn is not to start school soo.. early in the morning no kid is a morning person and if they are there must love school. school should be i place that we can learn and have fun because we are there for 8 hours 5 times a week and homework over the weekend is an other 2 to 3 hours,therefore we have no relexing time during the school year.The way some teachers teach is confusing and at a fast speed of learn what they want us to. We spend a week on a charpter then a test at the end of the week in some cases and in some cases teacher just talk over it and think we get it and we dont.
ReplyDeleteMy ideal of high school education would be like this we start school at 8:30 or 9 and you would pick your class that you would like to take and the class would be hands on and more active.There would be more activeies for everyone and no homework on the weekend and fridays get out early.
Aaron Scott
Troy Whiddon- I do like the school very much; there would be only a couple complaints I would have. First, I think the school is to crowded, It is almost impossible to get to class when behind a barricade of slowing moving students and there is no way to get pass them. Second, is the food, It is always the same old healthy stuff; Fried chicken and Nachos.
ReplyDeleteOne Time they gave us pork, which was so tough you could not even, put a fork in it.
Third, the state of the bathroom is disguising; stalls with no doors, clogged unflushed toilets, graffiti, clogged sinks, and gum every where. Fourth, I do not understand why half the school’s students are on drugs or drink alcohol. Fifth, I find that some of these students have no matters what so ever, almost in ever class. Lastly, waking up at 6:00 in the morning is a real pain in the neck, most me (including me) are still half asleep.
If I can make a school in my own way it would a heck of a lot easier to learn.
In my dream school, the hours would be 8:30 to 3:00 (when class starts to when it ends)
for an additional hour of sleep. There would be fewer students, not like a private school, but like Abington with more room to get to class. A wider variety of school lunches, maybe some foreign foods on Friday. There will be more projects like making videos or posters (since I fond them easy to do and sometimes fun). The bathroom would be a lot bigger, fancy, like a 5-star hotel. For education, I would chose social studies, math, videogame design, maybe cooking; just for the fun of it, lunch, Russian language class, chemistry, and English. The way I think about it, It is probably easier to learn when you have fun with it.
School is not one of my favorite’s things to do, but I have to get an education for the best of me. I think we should go to school and learn plus do class work, then come home and just study what we went over in class all that homework stuff is not needed. I think that when we are in class we should learn by haven fun not just sitting in class bored out this world got nothing else to do but to nod off. We should go to school at 10:00 so we can get ready in the mourning with out rushing and we should get out at 2:00. Are whole day is at school we have no family time or time to are self. It’s too much stuff to know teachers act like we don’t have family problems, update guys we do! So loosen up on the work please.
ReplyDeleteTerik Jefferson
-Rachel Maddela
ReplyDeleteMy main complaint is the teaching, some teachers just don’t know what they're doing. Well at least that’s what it feels like. Some teachers go so fast while teaching, then when they stop to ask questions, they continue before students can even get their hands up. Some teachers assume you're ready, and take you right in to a test or a quiz, and students do poorly on them from the lack of knowing the topic. Then there are those teachers that just stand up in front of the class and talk and talk, which actually gets very boring, and causes the student to drift off into lala-land or just completely doze off to sleep . There's an easy solution to that. I feel that if we do more fun and interactive activities, it would interest the students more, and they would learn, without even feeling like they're learning, which is something I personally like. A funny example of this is on an episode of Hannah Montana. In the episode, the main character needed an easy way to learn and memorize all the bones in the body, so she came up with a catchy song and dance, and in no time she got it all down and was able to pass her test. As silly as that sounds, it caused me to start think of my ideal high school, music and dance, if music and dance was incorporated into a lesson, it would most definitely draw the attention of students. It wouldn’t get boring, because every day we would learn something new, which also means learning a new song or dance. Music is a big part of most teenagers life, we all know that because we see them walking around with headphones in their ears and an iPod in their hand. Incorporating music and dance into school would take the pressure of learning and memorizing off students. I understand that not everyone talented in that area, but it wouldn’t have to be hardcore dancing or singing. Overall, my idea for a good high school is merely my opinion, and I hope that one day maybe some music will find its way into an everyday school lesson.
My complaints of this school is why we can't leave to go somewher to get lunch. I think we are old enough to leave and go get the lunch that we want. I think school shoud only be one hor a day. On monday's we should take math, tuesday's should be english, Wednesda's should be science, thursday should be social studies, and the rest of the week we should hav off. That would be the best school ever... to me atleast.
ReplyDelete